BGRI Request for Proposals

Proposal Stages

Proposals will be evaluated on the importance of the healthcare challenge being addressed, the quality of the scientific and design methods, the effective use of the requested funds, involvement of undergraduate students, potential for dissemination of results and prospective future collaborative work or technology transfer beyond
the grant period.

Funding for these opportunities will be made available in two stages, with Stage 1 initially targeted to a maximum of $20,000 and Stage 2 targeted to a maximum of $100,000. Funds are intended to support faculty, scientists, staff, students, travel and project supplies. Stage 1 award periods will only be for one year. Generally, Stage 2 awards will also be for one year, but two years may be requested when the significance of the work and the work plan justify such a request.

The two funding stages are defined as follows:

Stage 1

Collaborative pilot projects for one year of support up to $20,000. These projects represent areas of investigation that require initial resources to develop an idea or potential topic into a substantive project.

Award recipients will be required to give a presentation of results from their project during the subsequent fall semester.

Stage 2

Substantive, collaborative projects lasting up to two years requiring a maximum of $100,000 of support. The most competitive projects in this category are likely to be those that were invited for proposal based on a project that previously received BGRI funding and thereby demonstrated the benefits of the collaboration and the strength of the research. Stage 2 projects typically include the need for dedicated staffing, such as a postdoctoral researcher, laboratory technicians or programmers and additional resources to gather the preliminary data required for external funding.

Award recipients will be required to present their results shortly after the completion of their project.

Guidelines, Restrictions and Requirements

• Proposals must be jointly written and submitted by a Bucknell faculty member and a physician/clinician/scientist at Geisinger, with each party making significant contributions toward the effort. Each organization must receive a balanced portion of the budget. If the budget is not balanced between organizations, approximately 50-50, a rationale should be provided in the budget justification.
• Funding for projects involving human subjects will be contingent upon approval of the appropriate institutional review board.
• Funding is primarily for personnel, fringe benefits, consultants, supplies, domestic travel and patient care. In compelling circumstances, equipment may also be supported with adequate justification.
• Overall, the optimal outcomes of these projects are significant results/data and a long-lasting collaboration that is likely to result in a sustained partnership, dissemination of peer-reviewed publications and the pursuit of external funding.
• Potential for future external funding is of specific importance to Stage 2 projects.
• Bucknell faculty members may request up to one month of summer salary per year.
• Geisinger faculty may request salary support. It’s suggested that a Principal Investigator (PI) dedicate at least 5% effort. Geisinger salaries will be capped at $200,000 in accordance with internal funding policies.
• Geisinger staff are encouraged to include project management support in their budgets.
• Project timelines should correspond to the dates provided below.
• It is not expected that investigators will receive multiple awards. The intent of this mechanism is to propel opportunities for extramural funding to support ongoing research endeavors. To be eligible, PIs who have received prior BGRI funding must also include documentation of a previously submitted grant proposal to an external funder demonstrating pursuit of follow-on funding in support of the BGRI-funded research.

Stage 1 and 2 Application Requirements

• Completed cover sheet
• Project description
• Project budget
• CVs of PIs; biosketches will not be accepted
• Letter of support from each PI’s department chair
• If prior funding for a related BGRI project has been received, include updated Progress Report

Timelines

Submission Process and Deadlines

Both PIs must follow their institution’s formal internal proposal compliance approval process and submit their materials through their respective approval channels by March 25, 2025.

Bucknell PIs must submit the proposal through the Sponsored Projects Approval (SPA) online form.

SPA Form

Geisinger PIs must notify osppreaward@geisinger.edu with their intent to submit a proposal by Feb. 24, 2025. The following Geisinger internal deadlines are based on the March 25, 2025 final due date and in accordance with the submission deadline policy.

The Geisinger internal deadlines for the following components are as follows:

Geisinger OSP will provide a final package of Geisinger documents with consortium letter to the Geisinger PI to share with their Bucknell counterpart by close of business March 21, 2025. The Geisinger PI will be responsible for providing the final submission documents to the Bucknell PI for final submission into Bucknell’s system. (The Bucknell PI will take the lead on developing the research strategy with the Geisinger PI’s input and will submit it as part of the final package. Geisinger’s OSP does not need to review the strategy).

The Bucknell internal deadlines for the following components are as follows:

Geisinger OSP will provide a consortium letter to Bucknell OSP signifying budget approval for each proposal.

Bucknell’s OSP will share a final version of the full application with Geisinger’s OSP staff once approved and submitted.